Oxford and Cambridge Examinations and Assessment Council Certificate, OCEAC Certificate, Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board (OCSEB) was established in 1873, following pressure from ‘first grade’ schools for inspection and assessment by a board with close links to examiners and to Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The board comprised Syndics from Cambridge University and Delegates from Oxford University who appointed a Secretary for each side. These Secretaries, who were responsible for the conduct of examinations and nomination of examiners, were in the early years mostly academics who divided their time between OCSEB and university work.
Schools were examined on the internal work of students and at the invitation of headteachers. Certificate examinations were also available, initially in the form of a Higher Certificate for candidates of around 18, accepted for university matriculation. It was joined in 1887 by the Lower Certificate, designed to meet the preliminary requirements of professional bodies, and in 1905 by the School Certificate for candidates of around 16. Examinations were offered three times a year and required candidates to pass a range of subjects to gain a certificate. School inspections could be carried out at any time and covered all aspects of school organisation. Following the creation of the Board of Education in 1917, national School Certificate and Higher School Certificate examinations were introduced in the UK. School inspections continued, in some cases jointly with Board of Education, but these fell into terminal decline in the 1950s. In the 1940s the administrative side of the board was re-organised and full time Secretaries and staff were appointed. With the introduction of single subject General Certificate of Education (GCE) exams in 1951, Science and Maths subjects began to be administered from the Cambridge side and Humanities subjects from Oxford.
